3 ms·

Sure but BigTech offers a significant boost in comp over start-ups so you are really trading away some of the upside for stability. I like being able to do thin

by TimPC 3y ago

Sure but BigTech offers a significant boost in comp over start-ups so you are really trading away some of the upside for stability. I like being able to do things like pay a mortgage in a HCOL area out of base salary without dependency on stock. Some start-ups are starting to get more reasonable in comp so it's no longer a 50% pay cut (which it often used to be) but they are still often only offering about 70% of BigTech or less.

Swizec 3y ago
> offers a significant boost in comp over start-ups Yes and a lot of those total comp numbers are hiding pretty reasonable base salaries behind a huge “BigTech stocks soaring hiigh”. It is still pretty rare for an Individual Contributor to make more than $250k base. Even in BigTech. > pay a mortgage in a HCOL area out of base salary without dependency on stock This is completely doable in startups these days. Perhaps our definition of “startup” is different? I’m using it to mean any company with VC funding that hasn’t IPO’d or been acquired by a post-IPO company.
- dangerlibrary 3y ago
  If you have more than 200 employees you better not be telling me "we're a startup" as an excuse for having poor processes for basic things like providing competitive comp, hiring, performance reviews, and capacity planning. If you have under 50 employees then it really is true that often there are not enough pieces on the chessboard to get things done like a big boy company. I'm much more willing to be accommodating and pitch in as an employee in those circumstances. If you have over 1000 employees, you haven't IPO'd, and you keep telling your employees to work 60 hours a week because "we're a startup" then you're some combination of delusional and exploitative.
  - Swizec 3y ago
    Not an excuse for poor processes. Definitely an opportunity for big upside.

3 ms·

Sure but BigTech offers a significant boost in comp over start-ups so you are really trading away some of the upside for stability. I like being able to do thin

by TimPC 3y ago

Swizec 3y ago
> offers a significant boost in comp over start-ups Yes and a lot of those total comp numbers are hiding pretty reasonable base salaries behind a huge “BigTech stocks soaring hiigh”. It is still pretty rare for an Individual Contributor to make more than $250k base. Even in BigTech. > pay a mortgage in a HCOL area out of base salary without dependency on stock This is completely doable in startups these days. Perhaps our definition of “startup” is different? I’m using it to mean any company with VC funding that hasn’t IPO’d or been acquired by a post-IPO company.
- dangerlibrary 3y ago
  If you have more than 200 employees you better not be telling me "we're a startup" as an excuse for having poor processes for basic things like providing competitive comp, hiring, performance reviews, and capacity planning. If you have under 50 employees then it really is true that often there are not enough pieces on the chessboard to get things done like a big boy company. I'm much more willing to be accommodating and pitch in as an employee in those circumstances. If you have over 1000 employees, you haven't IPO'd, and you keep telling your employees to work 60 hours a week because "we're a startup" then you're some combination of delusional and exploitative.
  - Swizec 3y ago
    Not an excuse for poor processes. Definitely an opportunity for big upside.